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Notes on a Fandom: Proving Us Write

While the actors who portray our favorite characters get the majority of fan adoration, more and more, writers and show runners are rightfully getting their place in the spotlight. Sure, Ali Liebert brings Betty’s swagger on Bomb Girls, but writers dream up the lines that cut through us like a warm knife through maple butter. Paige McCullers would be just a footnote – a field hockey penalty – if Pretty Little Liars‘ show runner hadn’t seen her potential and gone with her gut. So here’s to the writers who inspire us, and the women and men who run the show. (Thank you to all of you who tweeted me your favorites.)

No two words strike as much fear and devotion in a fangirl’s heart as Shonda Rhimes (twitter.com/shondarhimes). Brilliantly gifted in matters of the heart, Shonda is a one woman wrecking crew of emotional turmoil. Over the years, our beloved docs at Seattle Grace have been put through so much hell, the characters even joke about it now. Shonda has the ability to make you fall in love with her characters, then rip out your soul when tragedy inevitably befalls them. Have you ever made it though an episode of Grey’s Anatomy without crying? If you said yes, then your heart is made of stone. The season finale of Season 6, “Sanctuary”, where a shooter goes on a rampage at the hospital, will go down as one of the most riveting and heart wrenching two hours of television ever. My heart clenched just thinking about it. While Seattle Grace is wracked with drama, Shonda never lets us forget that the heart of the show is friendship and human connection.

She also knows how important it is that all our stories are told, and she’s not afraid to school people who think otherwise. When a Twitter follower complained about the gay characters and storylines on her show, she respectfully yet powerfully responded in a blog post:

Because I believe everyone should get to see themselves reflected on TV. EVERYONE. And because I love all my gay and lesbian friends. AND because I think same-sex marriage is the civil rights fight of our era and back when being a person of color was the civil rights fight, people like Norman Lear put black people on TV and helped change some minds. So you know, it’s gotta be paid forward. As long as we are willing to sit by while one person is not free, none of us are free. And FINALLY: because as long as someone feels like it is OK to ask the question “why all the gay people on your shows,” then there is still a HUGE problem that needs to be solved. It’s like asking “Why all the black people on your shows”. (Which is, in fact, why there are also a lot of people my of color on shows. Cause people keep asking. Like it’s unusual. Which means we have a LONG way to go). OK, done preaching.

And that, folks, is why Shonda Rhimes is one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People this year.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Sara Shepard may have written the wildly popular books that the TV show Pretty Little Liars is based on, but it’s I. Marlene King who brings it to life every week on the small screen. I’ve always said that Pretty Little Liars is only masquerading as a teen drama; it’s really so much more than that. King, along with her band of brilliant writers, directors and cast, has created one of the most subversively smart, thrilling mystery shows on television today. King also understands her main demographic, tech savvy teenage girls and young women, and communicates with them using their own language. Social media. She tweets clues and teases reveals, calms shipper fears and stokes the flames of hysteria. (I’m talking about Ezria y’all) By encouraging fan involvement and input, she has helped make viewing Pretty Little Liars a community activity.

Also very worthy of mentioning are Pretty Little Liars writers and tweeters extraordinaire, Joseph Dougherty (twitter.com/Kockenlocker), Jonell Lennon (twitter.com/jonell_lennon), Andy Reaser (twitter.com/AndyReaser) and director Norman Buckley (twitter.com/norbuck). They are vital to the success of PLL, not just as artists, but also as active participants in its cultural phenomenon.

What’s even more delicious and frustrating than a love triangle? How about a quadrangle with three gorgeous women – and a wolf dude? Lost Girl is easily one of the gayest shows on television, and producer Emily Andras (twitter.com/emtothea) is the captain of this freighter. (Not that this showrunner will tell you what ship she’s rooting for.)

One of the things that sets Lost Girl apart is that Andras and her team have created characters you can’t help but care about, even when they aren’t part of your desired OTP. Andras is as whimsical as her show, listening, laughing and chatting with fans. She’s helped create a world where sexuality is a non-issue, and sexual freedom is celebrated rather than shamed. The real beauty of Lost Girl, however, is the throughline of family that Andras has woven, those we are born into, and those we create on our own.

Photo courtesy Michael MacLennan

Let us take a moment to gnash our teeth and weep into our blue hair bonnets for the dearly, departed Bomb Girls. Now, that we have that out of our systems, let’s take a moment to recognize Bomb Girls head writer and producer, Michael MacLennan (twitter.com/zenfandango). MacLennan wrote a beautiful, female centric show that we all fell hopelessly in love with.

Prior to Bomb Girls, in addition to his numerous credits, MacLennan also played a major role as co-executive producer and writer on the ground breaking show, Queer as Folk. Whether you loved or couldn’t stand QAF‘s unapologetic style, there is no doubt that it paved the way for shows like The L Word and inclusion of LGBT characters across the board. While Bomb Girls has officially been cancelled, loyal fans, cast and crew have been rallying to bring it back. Do you part Bombshells, and support Michael MacLennan and, of course, Betty McRae. Tell Shaw Media and GlobalTv you want your girls back.

If there were any man who has held the key to my heart, it would be writer/director/producer, Joss Whedon. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was not just a television show for many of its fans – it was a life changer. Whedon crafted characters that in spite their super strength, magical power, or immortality, touched us because of their humanity. Love, death, family, friends.

Whedon, and his amazing writing team (including Marti Noxon and Jane Espenson) somehow turned a story about a teenage girl fighting vampires, into a show all of us could relate to. Yes, he will never let him live down killing off Tara. But Whedon has always had his reasons, and as time has passes and my flailing has subsided, I think I understand them more. Whedon’s fans are a devoted lot, and will follow him through the Hellmouth if need be. Next stop however, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, starring fan favorite Whedon-verse actors, Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, and Nathan Fillion to name a few.

OK, I know some of you are reading this saying, “Dana, seriously? SERIOUSLY!” Yes, seriously. I know very well that lesbian fans of Glee have had serious issues with Ryan Murphy (twitter.com/MrRPMurphy). Most of these issues are totally valid, and there have been many times where I have taken Mr. Murphy and his writing team to task (like every week in my vlog) for their decisions. But here is the deal. Fans wouldn’t be so passionate about Glee if they didn’t love it so much.

Murphy (along with Ian Brennan and Brad Falchuk — RIB) created a show that brought gay and lesbian characters right into the spotlight. Glee has changed hearts and minds, and given us no less that six LGBT characters – in one season alone! Ryan Murphy has been showing television audiences the lives of people of the fringes for a long time. Do yourself a favor and watch his short lived, but hilarious and way quirky first show, Popular. While he may drive fans crazy, and comes off as insensitive and downright flippant at times, Ryan Murphy continues to bring the big gay into homes across this world on a weekly basis. Murphy won’t always (or often) give his fans what they clamor for, but he does bring our lives into the mainstream. He’s shown the world that we live and love like everyone else. For that, I will always be appreciative. So now, how about some Santana lady loving, eh Ryan?

So who are your favorite writers? Who rules at running the show in your book?

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